Why can voluntary agreements between water companies, farmers and authorities help to

implement the European WFD and CAP reforms?

Ingo Heinz

University of Dortmund, Germany

Man and River System II – Interaction among Rivers, their Watershed and the Sociosystem

http://www.sisyphe.upmc.fr/mr2/4-6 December 2006, Paris

How to tackle water problems?

Voluntary agreements and negotiations (e.g. between farmers and water companies)

Mandatory regulations (e.g. statutory rules)

Charges on water use (e.g. on pesticides)

Subsidies (e.g. agri-environmental program)

Water and agriculture

• Diffuse pollution (e.g. nitrate)

• Water shortage (e.g. Spain)

• Conflicts with other water users

Water problems:

Difficulties to tackle diffuse pollution

Polluter pays principle does not work

Who caused which pollution?

Monitoring often extremely costly

Enforcement of statutory rules difficult

Statutory rules • High costs• Low effectiveness

Charges on pollution • Not site-specific enough • Low cost-effectiveness

Agri-environmental programs

• Not site-specific enough • Low cost-effectiveness

Voluntary agreements and negotiations

• Site-specific• High cost-effectiveness

Diffuse pollution

Voluntary agreements and negotiations: Advantages …

Authorities support the implementation of agreements

Prevent increase of pollution

Under-run statutory limit values (e.g. 50 mg nitrate)

Agreements often more stringent than statutory rules

Monitoring easy, e.g. Nmin soil analysis; plot-card index

Expertise of farmers and water companies used

High motivation of farmers to collaborate

m³/a million EUR/a EUR/m³

Water abstraction 100

Expenditures of water company (compen-sation payments, advisory services)

480,000 0.005

Saved costs of water company (treatment)

1,250,000 0.125

Economic benefit 770,000

Stevertalsperre Remedial case: Pesticides > 0.1µ/L

m³/a million EUR/a EUR/m³

Water abstraction 25

Expenditures of water

company (compen-sation payments, advisory services)

420,000 0.016

Saved costs of water company (treatment)

Economic benefit

Holsterhausen Preventative case: Nitrate: < 7 mg/L

EU Water Framework Directive WFD

1. Set up river basin management plans 2009

2. Achieve cost recovery + incentive water pricing 2010

3. Establish cost-effective programs of measures 2012

4. Achieve good status of water bodies 2015

5. Justify derogations from good status of water bodies

Key requirements:

WFD + Voluntary agreements

• contribute to cost-effective programs of measures

Voluntary agreements…

• prevent increasing pollution and reverse rising trends

• compare costs with societal benefits and avoid disproportionate costs

• incorporate stakeholders with different preferences

• can be applied in watersheds where no water companies operate

EU Common Agricultural Policy CAP

2. Link financial supports to farmers from agri-environmental programs to meeting the rules of good agricultural practice EU regulation 1698/2005

on “Support for Rural Development”

Key requirements:

1. Link direct payments to farmers to compliance with

environmental standards (e.g. water, food safety,

animal health) EU regulation 1782/2003 on “Cross Compliance”

Regulation 1782/2003: Cross compliance

• Maintain farmland in good status 2005

• Maintain long-term grassland 2005• Comply with 19 existing EU Regulations

1. Nitrate, sludge, groundwater, FHH 2005

2. Pesticides, food, animal health 2006

3. Animal protection, etc. 2007

Requirements:

CAP reforms + Voluntary agreements

Voluntary agreements …

1. help farmers in complying with water-related and other environmental standards (e.g. reduction of soil erosion)

2. help farmers in meeting the rules of good agricultural practice (e.g. EU Nitrates Directive; national regulations concerning use of pesticides and fertilisers)

3. ensure moderate financial burdens to farmers due to cost-effective agreements and financial supports provided by water companies

WFD + CAP reforms + Voluntary agreements

Voluntary agreements …

Contribute to an area-wide application of a more• environmentally friendly agriculture EC No 1782/2003• sustainable rural development EC No 1698/2005

1. Further interest groups participate, such as cities, nature conservationists, fisheries, hydro-power producers….

2. Experiences on changes of farming practices can be transferred into areas where no agreements exist

WFD + CAP reforms + Voluntary agreements

Example of area-wide voluntary agreements:

“Gebietskooperationen” in Lower Saxony, Germany

• Founded in 28 sub-river basins• For each a river basin management plan will be established

According to an Ordinance of the Ministry of Environment of Lower Saxony issued on 25 March 2005

www.nlwkn.de (Wasserwirtschaft)

• Water use• Water quality

Good status of water bodies

Voluntary agreements

Site-specific and cost-effectivechanges of farming practices

WFD requirementsCAP reform

Topics for future research

1. Update studies on voluntary agreements in the EU

2. Investigate voluntary agreements in the new EU

Member States

3. Analyse the contributions of voluntary agreements to meet the WFD requirements in the EU

4. Analyse the contributions of voluntary agreements to implement the CAP reforms in the EU

Topics for future research

5. Assess voluntary agreements for water scarcity problems

6. Explore the advantages of area-wide agreements in the EU (“Gebietskooperationen” in sub-river basins)